Three Ways Social Media Helps Recruiting

Why should a company use social media as part of the recruiting process? There are at least three good reasons that are valid both for small businesses and large organizations.

Probably the most common way that companies use social media is simply to raise awareness of job opportunities. Since social media has, in theory, global coverage by posting to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter you reach a much greater population than traditional job advertising. If you craft the post so that it is very appealing random people will also share it to their network, making it even more visible. That's the reason why a job ad should never be boring. But there are two obstacles to this: there are no truly global social media -- you might need to use multiple channels to reach your target demographics -- and some people spend very little time reading content, they just post their links then move on.

 Where social media really helps companies to find better talent is in social network data mining. Back in the day you would advertise a job, some people would apply, you would sort through hundreds of CVs, interview the most promising candidate and then make the choice. Today you can get a premium LinkedIn account and simply search for all the people with the qualities you are looking for then reach out to the ones that look most interesting. The advantages of this approach are that you reach even people who maybe are not thinking of a new job and that the whole process is much simpler, faster and cheaper. You don't reach everyone this way, though, because there are still a few people who refuse to use LinkedIn, but maybe you don't want someone unfamiliar with the business tools of our century anyway.

 But there is also another reason for using social media in your recruiting, A well-managed, professional looking social media campaign can foster a favorable climate for the recruiting by creating a favorable image of your company.  Most young people and many older people would be deterred from applying for a job at a company that appears to be clueless about social media. This is sometimes viewed as an alarm system that the workplace still has a 1990s feel or worse. By demonstrating an understanding of social media practice the company will look much more attractive, even if the position is actually filled in some other way.

 Managing social media effectively is neither difficult nor expensive. Anyone can learn to manage the process and to operate the social media machinery with simple workshops and courses. But since the technology is continually evolving you also need to keep up with new developments to be effective.
Lectures, Workshops, Coaching, Writing

 For lectures, workshops, one-to-one coaching and writing about social media and digital marketing you can contact the author Andrew Hennigan by email at speaker@andrewhennigan.com or by phone at 0046 730 894 475 or 0033 6 79 61 42 81.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Best Regards: How to Start and End Your Emails

Image
Last year I wrote that to make your email more effective you should put meaningful content into the subject line, keep your messages short and consider other channels (see Three Timesaving Tips for Email ). I also wrote some guidelines about common culture problems when email crosses borders (see Three Non-Obvious Ways Culture Affects Email ). But there is one other question about international email that comes up regularly in workshops: how should you start and finish? Do I use "Dear", "Hi",or "Hello" to start with? What do I do if I don't know if the person I am writing to is a man or a woman? "What is the difference between "Best regards  and "Warm regards"? This is a question that puzzles many people and a while ago it stressed me, too. But the answers to these questions are perhaps easier than you imagine. DEAR MR/MRS WHATEVER . First of all, at the start of a mail you probably have some sort of salutation. How do you kn
Read more

Reverting to Emails: Confusion and the Indian English Language

Image
In workshops about global email many people focus on their issues communicating with colleagues in India. Partly this is related to some deeper cultural differences that lead to misunderstandings. But many problems are also caused by the different ways in which Indian people use English. There are some "English" words that you will probably only hear in India, like " stepney ", their word for a spare wheel. A hundred years ago this term was coined in the UK and was exported to India where it survived. Back home only a few antique vehicle enthusiasts have any idea what it means. There are also many English expressions that are peculiar to India, like "What is your good name?". But in both cases an English speaker from elsewhere would just see an unfamiliar expression and either ask what it means or google it. Most problems are caused by another kind of difference: where a standard US or UK English word is used but with a different meaning. Recently s
Read more

TED’s Magical Red Carpet

Image
Watch any TED(x) video or, better still, attend a live event, and you will probably notice that speakers stand in the middle of a circular red carpet. This choice is not just a question of aesthetics. That red carpet actually plays a key role in the success of the TED format. Having the speaker stand in the middle of a red carpet has several important consequences, leading the speaker to follow best practices that they might not be aware of. No script or notes . Since there is no table, lectern or other furniture within reach, the speaker cannot easily read from a script. This forces them to deliver their talk from memory, which is much more compelling because few people can read from a script and make it sound natural. And no matter how good you are at reading, the audience can see that your eyes are scanning the text and this breaks the magical connection with their minds. Encouraging people to speak from memory pushes them to make a much better talk than they might ot
Read more